18 Ways to Increase Commerce Conversion Rates

It goes without saying that website visits alone won’t boost your bottom line. Conversions are crucial. And in eCommerce, which are the holy grail of conversions? You guessed it: sales.

So, how do you encourage people to move swiftly from casually browsing to confirming that order? Anyone who’s ever managed an eCommerce site knows it’s not easy. There are many potential blockers to conversion that cause customers to abandon your site.

If conversions are a challenge for you, you’re in the right place. We’ve got eighteen tactics, tweaks, and subtle changes you can make to improve eCommerce conversion rates…

1) Use great product images

Nice images don’t just make products look pretty. They make people want to purchase. It’s the job of the product image to reassure customers that the products are worth paying for.

We’re not just talking about taking a good shot. High-converting eCommerce sites feature multiple images from a range of angles and even let customers zoom in on the details.

2) Display product videos

Online, the customer can’t hold your product in their hands. So, show them what it looks like in someone else’s!

7) Stay in contact with the customer

Don’t hide your contact details away or insist people have to contact you using a form. It’s not customer-friendly and it will send your conversion rate into a tailspin.

To improve your conversion rates make sure you’re easy to speak to. And if you don’t have the peoplepower, consider using live chat software to answer online questions quickly.

8) Alert customers to limited availability

FOMO (the fear of missing out) is a real mind-set that you can capitalise on. This is especially true when it comes to online shopping.

It might be an expiring offer, low stock, or a limited-edition product. Whatever it is, the restricted availability creates tension that makes them want your products more.

Our software displays real-time alerts on both your site and emails to warn when people are about to miss out. This helps prompt a decision and all too often leads to a fast purchase.

9) Have an FAQ section

Make sure you have a good Frequently Asked Questions section. The answers will reassure customers and might be the only thing between browsing and buying.

And make sure they don’t need to scroll through lots of questions and answers either. A search bar is a great way of answering customers’ queries quickly.

10) Show product recommendations

Product recommendations are a great way of guiding customers through their shopping experience.

They can be based around previous shopping or browsing habits to make sure your recommendations are always relevant. Our personalisation software allows you to display these on both email and your website easily.

11) Make it easy to search

The way that you’ve categorised items on your eCommerce site might be logical to you. But it could be a nightmare for your customers.

Reduce the risk of customers not finding what they want by giving them the ability to search your site as easily as possible.

It’s a simple thing but all too often something that online retailers overlook. A good search function, with the choice of advanced filters, lets shoppers find and buy what they’re looking for, fast.

12) Use social proof

Like it or not but humans are herd animals. We like to follow the crowd and know what others are doing. It reassures us that we’re making the right choices, especially when we’re shopping online.

And showing what other shoppers like or buy is a great way of increasing your conversion rates. Show visitors what other people are buying, showcase your crowdsourced bestsellers, and feature customer reviews. There are plenty of ways you can bring social proof into your website experience. In fact, we’ve written an entire blog post on how to use social proof to boost conversions.

13) Display a progress bar

We’ve all used shopping sites that seem to take ages to complete an order. It often leads to customers getting frustrated or distracted and abandoning their purchase.

Give your customers the heads-up on how many steps they need to complete at the start of the checkout. A progress bar acts like a carrot on a stick and keeps them engaged right through to the last step.

14) Have a one-click checkout

One-click checkouts save the customer’s billing and delivery details making it easy to order in just one click. So fast in fact, that customers don’t get a chance to reconsider before the order’s made!

If you’ve got an app or mobile site then one-click checkouts will ramp up conversion and convenience.

15) Reassure them about safe payments and data privacy

There are still customers who are too scared to transact online. And you can’t blame them with stories of online fraud and retailers losing personal details in the media.

Reassure your customers that they’re in safe hands by showing them you provide safe and secure payment methods. And make sure they know you take the protection of their personal data very seriously.

16) Provide multiple payment options (including Paypal!)

Many an online shopping basket has been lost through a misplaced purse or forgotten security details.

Give customers easy, fast and convenient payment options to choose from. And don’t forget the cardless methods like Paypal. They make it easy to transact without having to think too much.

17) Offer a guest checkout

Don’t ask customers to complete lots of forms before they checkout. It’ll just frustrate them and you’ll lose the sale.

Instead let them check out with minimum fuss using a guest checkout. As long as you have their email address you can always ask them for more details later.

18) Retarget them

If a visitor browses your site once you can always retarget them again. It might be using retargeting ads or automated emails which feature items they looked at.

It’s a great way of triggering a transaction with a few timely reminders of what they’re missing. And it’s easy to set up with the right retargeting software.

Takeaway

Working through this list of tactics is a practical way to improve your eCommerce performance when it comes to conversion.

And remember that your desktop, mobile site, and app will each have their own conversion rates. It’s important to review each shopping method’s metrics to see where you can plug the gaps and improve the performance.

None of these tactics need to be reserved for the likes of Amazon. By using technology like ours any retailer can employ strategies which they previously believed were beyond their budgets.

And remember: no increase in conversion rate is too small to make a difference. It’s all progress that converts directly into pounds!

If you’d like to see our technology in action, click the button below.